The Monster Within
by FFantasyQueen
Summary: *UPDATED*Post game story. Reno runs into some new faces and old enemies. R+R please.
1. Default Chapter

Chapter 1  
  
At the far corner of some narrow side street stood Fate, one of the many bars dedicated solely to the nightlife in Midgar. A flight of stone steps led down to the main entrance, where a broad, impressive bouncer stood watch.  
  
All lights had been dimmed greatly, if only to attract everyone's attention to the entertainment up on stage. Some young singer in a skin-tight, glittery dress basked under the spotlight with a hand-held microphone. She sung some sentimental love song in an sweet voice, smiling or winking many times to her admiring onlookers.  
  
Not surprisingly, most of her audience comprised of men: lonely bachelors for a night out; bitter husbands on the run from their nagging wives; even old men who fancied themselves still as young as before. They smoke and drank, some murmured about any pointless topic, others simply enjoyed this pleasing sight (or the music, whichever they preferred).  
  
The huge bar spread itself down the middle of the hall, with many high stools outlining its shiny, wooden counter. Plenty of customers lounged around for drinks or a friendly chat. The old bartender, a respectable gentleman nearly 60 years old, bustled about like a bumble bee. He served up the alcoholic beverages, replaced filled ashtrays, and hustled the waitresses to work faster.  
  
Indeed, nightlife thrived so wonderfully at Fate. An sancuarie for anyone seeking respite from the mountainous troubles outside, be they work, debt, women, or lack there of.  
  
One particular young man sat slouched back against the bar counter, swirling what little remained of his drink around in a glass. He was of medium height, gaunt, and lazily dressed in looses slacks, and an untucked shirt. He had an amazing shock of red hair, with a thin, long pigtail dangling behind. One neat scar marked each cheekbone, not only accentuating the leanness of his face, but also the cynicism in his cerulian (greenish-blue) eyes.  
  
Another man sat on the stool on his right. This man lay slumped over the counter, his bald head tiredly buried in both arms. He appeared taller, older than his lean companion, certainly more muscular. Yet despite the noisy bustling around him, the weary man never lifted his head. He was either drunk or asleep. Probably both.  
  
The red-haired man glanced a moment at his bald companion, then turned his narrow eyes back to the dazzling singer on stage. He coolly finished off his drink, while one foot beat along with the sweet music.  
  
"Hey Reno, wanna' refill?" asked the bartender instinctively.  
  
Reno just nodded and went back to his thoughts. Since Shin-ra's collapse 6 months ago, him and Rude had been scouting around for work all over Midgar. Fortunately they had gotten jobs as bodyguards just recently for an old-rich-guy, in sector 3. But he was an old man and he was gonna kick off any day now. So this job would be a temporary one. Just then, his thoughts were cut off by...  
  
"Hey there, sweet thang!!" cut in an arrogant, gruff voice.  
  
A young woman, no older than 21, was being harangued by a hulk of a man towering over her. He had a dirty black beard, and wore a beaten leather jacket torn at one elbow. Some sort of fashion statement, perhaps?. An insolent smile stretched across his ugly face, showing off the wide gap between his two front teeth.  
  
Two other men, evidently his companions, lingered behind. they chuckled like idiots or passed on a rude comment amongst themselves. They all reeked of sweat and alcohol.  
  
"I been watching you from across the room over there," he announced with a cocky motion of the hand, "Never seen you here before but damn! You look hot!"  
  
All three men exploded into coarse laughter, the drunken leader giving her another meaningful wink.  
  
The poor girl looked so overwhelmed by her own sorrow, she didn't even acknowledge the behemoth's' drunken blabber. Despite the rain cloud that seemed to hang over her head, she seemed like a very attractive young woman. She had golden hair and brown, almost garnet eyes.  
  
"Name's Wallice," introduced the bulky man. He grinned more stupidly as he shifted his impressive weight to the side, "but everyone calls me King Wally, leader of the Fire Fang Gang. We own the whole sector! And you are...?"  
  
She casually looked over towards him and said, "sorry, not interested." Then went back to her drink.  
  
With almost a surprised look, the giant grabbed her arm tightly. "I like women who play hard to get." He said with a drunken slur.  
  
"Ow! Let go of me!" cried the girl. She squirmed in this painful grip, "I just said I'm not interested! Let go!!'  
  
"Hey, babe! you better show respect to our King!" demanded one of the drunkards.  
  
"Yeah! No one refuses King Wally!" laughed another.  
  
"Let go! Let go, I say!" resisted the girl.  
  
"Say pal," called Reno's cool voice suddenly  
  
Everyone looked at him, the stupid drunkards with a hateful glare, the girl in surprise. Reno sat slouched in his high-stool, at complete ease with this situation. A somewhat crooked smile twisted his lips as he addressed Wallice.  
  
Rude, however, remained slumped over the counter.  
  
"What the hell do YOU want, little man?" thundered the brawny man. He flung the poor woman aside, and faced the intruder in full view, with both fists propped against his hips.  
  
"The lady just said she wasn't interested," Reno remarked cuttingly, "Now obviously, if she had wanted an ape for company, she'd have went to the zoo. At least the ones over there smell better."  
  
All three drunkards gaped stupidly at the insult until at last Wallice understood. He bared his teeth in a raging fury.  
  
"C'MERE, YOU GODDAMN...," he roared out.  
  
The drunkard hurled one huge fist straight for Reno's face. However, not only had Reno anticipated the attack, but had already decided the counter-move. In the blink of an eye, he gracefully flipped back onto the counter, just as Wallice savagely punched the stool instead. No sooner had Reno touched onto the counter, than he grabbed hold of a heavy ashtray nearby and swung it clear into the shocked assailant's face. The blow knocked a tooth out of Wallice as it sent him flying to the side, right into an empty table.  
  
The violent commotion brought the entire hall to a confused halt. The woman, who had been singing an encore, stumbled over her words. The music stopped. Many customers turned their heads around towards the ruckus. Even the entrance guard peeked inside to get a look.  
  
Reno stood on top of the bar counter, hardly bothered by the odd stares he received from every direction. The scornful smile had changed to a most cold frown. His deep cerulian eyes were narrowed in cool indifference.  
  
The girl looked on in anxious concern. Surprisingly, Rude remained slumped over the counter, right by Reno's feet. Nothing it seemed could awaken him.  
  
For a moment, Wallice's two drunken companions stared at their fallen leader. He lay thrashed against the floor, the broken table and chairs all heaped on top of him. A blind rage suddenly seized them.  
  
"Asshole! Yer gonna pay!!" swore one man.  
  
"No one does that to Fire Fang!!" thundered the other.  
  
"With a cheesy name like that, I'm not surprised," remarked Reno coolly.  
  
This second insult would not go by unanswered. They both lunged straight for him, roaring at the top of their voices for vengeance. With such easy nimbleness, Reno dodged the double attack by cartwheeling aside along the counter.  
  
Reno, on the other hand, landed on the ground again, unharmed.  
  
During the entire brawl, Rude hadn't lifted his head once.  
  
Reno stood the victor in cool composure. Everyone gawked in amazement at the spectacle. Some simply watched on, others muttered faint exclamations like "cool!" or "What happened?"  
  
In any case, Reno carelessly flicked his long pigtail back. He seemed quite bored by the drunkards pathetic attempts.  
  
"Honestly! Ganging up on a poor man like me," he drew out lazily, "You guys are lucky I'm in such a generous mood, otherwise I would've killed you."  
  
The silly squabble thus concluded, Reno returned to the bar counter. However, he stopped short when Wallice suddenly scrambled back up to his feet in a perfect fit of rage. To him, this fight hadn't finished yet.  
  
He savagely grabbed hold of the nearest chair, screaming out, C'mere, you scrawny little punk-ass!! I'll kill ya!! I'll kill ya!!"  
  
Reno turned his head around. He only dignified the threat with a composed, rather indifferent expression, then turned away again. Not at ll bothered, he stood at the bar counter to finish up his drink.  
  
That was the final snub. Wallice charged straight at Reno, swinging the hair around in a mad passion.  
  
The old bartender, who hadn't dared speak all this time, suddenly intervened from behind the counter.  
  
"Hey!! Hey!! Wallice!!" the old man cried out in alarm, "Don't go messing around THOSE guys!!! They're damn TURKS!!!!"  
  
Wallice instantly halted, and stood agape at the warning. The news spread like wild fire from mouth to mouth. The more cautious people backed away; others crowded around for a closer look. Faint mutterings broke out. Indeed, that one word "Turks" had caused a noticeable stir amongst the shocked spectators.  
  
Nevertheless, Reno remained at the bar counter with his back to the crowd. The girl stood by his side, very intrigued by this news. Rude stayed slumped over as always.  
  
Wallice stared another moment before suddenly exploding into the coarsest, most loud bout of laughter.  
  
"Turks?! HAH! Gimme a break, old man!!" he roared all over the hall, "Turks ain't nothing no more!! Just a buncha wussy, push-over bums without a job!!"  
  
Reno merely picked up his glass again in perfect easiness.  
  
"Turks! Whadda joke!!" the drunkard spat out, glaring more venomously at Reno, "Yeah! Not so hot now that you can't hide yer ass behind ShinRa, huh? Yeah, on top of the world....doing anything you want, then bam! Suddenly, you jes' low-life worms!! Huh! You must be the worst piece of shit on the whole damn planet!!"  
  
Amidst this insolent laughter, Reno gulped down the rest of his drink without the least care. He didn't need to look behind. He could discern the spectators' nervous stares change to hateful glares.  
  
Wallice hurtled a few more drunken oaths, encouraged onwards by two or three other spectators. Reno, calm as ever, took the last sip of his drink  
  
The drunken man did not need to be a genius, or even sober to realize he had just been insulted.  
  
He instantly resumed his mad charge with the wooden chair, shouting, "I'll friggin' rip ya ta...."  
  
Everything ended in a flash, far too quick for anyone to expect. Before the aggressive drunkard could even finish the threat, Rude suddenly sprang off the stool for a swift rebuff. In one powerful sweep, he kicked the chair out of Wallice's two hands. Without pausing, Rude swung himself around once to deliver one mighty elbow clean into the man's ugly face, thereby sending him flying back into another table. Wallice did not get up again.  
  
Reno stood in his same spot, totally indifferent to what had just passed. the girl blinked in surprise, while all separators lingered in silent awe. Indeed, no one (except perhaps Reno) had expected this sleeping man to leap up like that, much less for him to be such an effective ally.  
  
Imposingly tall with stern brown eyes, Rude studied the unconscious Wallice another moment, then turned away in sour resentment.  
  
"Bad enough you wake me up with that silly hollering," he muttered tiredly, "..but to go on and insult the Turks?" With that, he laid back down on the bar and resumed his nap.  
  
Both the bouncer and bartender were quite upset with the disturbance, not to mention the broken chairs and tables. But neither one would dare ask the two Turks to leave, they were too scared to.  
  
Reno, casually lit a cigarette and leaned back on the stool as if nothing had come to pass. Rude silently sat, sleeping away. Wallices buddies quickly dragged him out to get medical attention. And the girl, who was the cause of all this, quietly got up and occupied the empty stool to the right of Reno.  
  
"Thank you," she said quietly, "I don't know what would have happened if you didn't come along."  
  
"No problem," he said calmly, after taking another drag of his cigarette. "I mean I'm a flirt and all, but he went a bit to far." After a short pause he continued. What are you doing in a depressing place like this anyway? Something wrong?"  
  
"You can say that." She said as her face showed the trouble in her mind. "A very good friend of mine Josh was abducted a short while ago. There was no ransom note or very many clues. But..." she faltered. "Josh was looking into finding some information on a guy named Sepheroth who killed his brother. He didn't find much, but he stumbled across the name Hojo, and that's the last i heard of it."  
  
On hearing those two names, Reno practically fell outa his chair. His cool demeanor went flying out the window. "Did you just say Hojo?!"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"That twisted, sick, son-of-a-bitch worked for Shin-ra!!!"  
  
The girl promptly jumped out of her chair. "You know him then?!" She said wide-eyed.  
  
"You could say that."  
  
"If you help me find him, and get some answers as to where Josh might be, I'll give you 500gil! That's all I have but I'll get you more if you -."  
  
"No that's ok, keep your money. If i get a chance to pummel that freak, It'll be worth it. And I think I may know where he is too." He said cracking his knuckles.  
  
"You do?! You will?! Thank you so much. When can we go?" She said excitedly.  
  
"No time like the present." He stood up, putting his old, blue Turk jacket back on. "I think we should let Rude out of this though, he had a rough day."  
  
"Whatever you say...umm... what is your name anyway?"  
  
"Reno. You?"  
  
"Lisa, nice to meet you."  
  
"Likewise. Well let's go...Hey bartender, put the drinks on my tab." He said on the way out. He exited the bar, leaving Rude behind and with Lisa right behind him. 


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2  
  
After walking for several minutes without saying anything, Reno turned to Lisa and asked, "So why do you think Hojo would want to abduct your friend...what was his name again?"  
  
"Josh," she replied. "and I think that Hojo may want him because...well. Josh is half Ancient."  
  
'Ancient,' thought Reno, 'I haven't heard that word since I was ordered to kidnap that girl, Aeris. Had I cared about what Hojo would do to her I would have never done it. But I was getting paid for it and I didn't ask questions. Come to think of it, I carried a lot of orders out without asking what the consequences may be.' He pondered as a lump of guilt grew in his heart. '"I never once asked..." he said under his breath. He looked down at his hands, and for the first time, he saw them covered with the blood of dozens of innocent people.  
  
"Did you say something, Reno?" Lisa asked with a concerned look on her face.  
  
"Hmm...Oh nothin'." He said snapping out of it. "uhh...come on were almost there."  
  
Rounding a corner into a dark alleyway Reno seemed to look around for something. "When the Shinra building collapsed, Hojos lab went with it, but if he's still in Midgar, he'd be here."  
  
"Where's here?" She asked a bit confused. "This is just an alleyway, and a dead end at that."  
  
"Found it!" Reno said with an accomplished tone to his voice. "An alleyway it is...But things aren't always what they seem." Lisa was a bit dumbfounded when Reno pushed a single brick into the wall, opening a door to a stairwell. "Hojo always did have a backup lab."  
  
"Wow" she said, walking towards the doorway, "I'm impressed."  
  
Reno stooped her short, putting his arm in her path. "Don't go rushing in, Hojo may be a psycho, but he's no idiot." Reno whipped out his Electro rod, witch was concealed in his jacket, and lead the way in. It was very dark. The walls were slick with algae and a rat scurried along on a pipe overhead. The smell of mildew and rubbing alcohol filled the air, it was difficult to breathe without gagging. The faint silhouette of a door ahead caught Reno's keen eyes. "This way." He whispered. Lisa nodded and followed close behind.  
  
Reno approached the entryway with extreme caution, listening carefully for any sounds that might indicate life, or danger. He couldn't hear anything, except for the faint rattling of chains. Like someone trying to break free. Peering into the room through a tiny crack in the door's opening, he saw a young man chained to the wall. His long black hair was soaked with sweat and his mouth had been duct taped. He looked as if he had been struggling for hours. There was no sign of Hojo. Turning to Lisa he gave her a quick thumbs up, indicating 'we found him.'  
  
Lisa couldn't contain herself, she ran past Reno practically pushing him out of the way and flung the door wide open. When her eyes made contact with the man chained to the wall, she yelled with a huge ray of relief in her voice, "JOSH!" The man picked his head up, but upon seeing his friend, his eyes showed panic.  
  
He tried to stand up, but the chains clasped around his wrists restrained his efforts. Yelling something unknown at the two, the tape over his mouth made it impossible to understand. Lisa ran over to Josh as Reno cautiously surveyed the area, no Hojo. 'This is far to easy,' he thought a bit unsatisfied with the situation.  
  
Lisa pealed the tape of her friends mouth expecting a happy 'hello' but instead was meat with "GET OUT OF HERE!!! IT'S A TRAP!!!" But his warning came to late. The door from which they came in slammed shut and locked on its own. They had nowhere to run.  
  
A maniacal laughter emanated from the corner of the room, in the dark shadows. A glimmer of a pair of glasses and the silhouette of a white lab coat confirmed it. It was Hojo. "Isn't this nice," he said almost in a hiss. "More test subjects." With that, he reached over and pulled a switch, sending a huge electrical current through the floor. The sum of 10,000 volts ripped through the three of them, rendering Lisa and Josh unconscious in an instant. Reno, being slightly tougher than the two, fell to his knees facing the psycho.  
  
"You...son of a..." that was it, Reno's eyes rolled back in his head as he collapsed onto the floor. Falling, falling...suddenly all went black.  
  
***********************************************************************  
  
"Reno.....Reno.....Reno.....RENO!" He heard Lisa frantically calling his name as he regained consciousness. He was strapped to what looked to be an operating table, leather straps held his body down, a IV bag hung just overhead as it pumped him full of an awkward purple fluid. Turning back to the voice, he saw Lisa chained to the wall by Josh, both of which had woken up just recently. The bright light that shown down on him hurt his eyes badly. He wished he could reach the shades on his forehead. He was about to ask Lisa what the hell was going on when Hojo entered the room.  
  
"So how is my little experiment going. Hmmm?" He said with a demented grin on his face.  
  
"What the hell are you doing to me you fucking psycho!" Reno retorted angrily. The fluid pumping into his arm felt like battery acid, and the pain was quickly running throughout the rest of his body.  
  
"My my, no need for such harsh language," Hojo said, "I'm simply altering you, I'm not going to kill you." He looked at Lisa. "Oddly enough the cells didn't seem to have any effect on the girl. Very strange. yes it is."  
  
"Cells?" Reno pondered.  
  
"Yes Mr. Reno, JENOVA Cells." he said examining the now almost empty IV bag. "I thought since you were a Turk and all, the cells would have an interesting effect on you."  
  
"What do you mean 'effect'?" Reno demanded with a cynical tone to his voice.  
  
"Well, let me put it this way." he said with a sadistic grin, " I believe you already met my last experiment...a Mr.Valintine I think it was."  
  
"What?!" Yelled Reno. "Your not gong to turn me into some vampiric freak!"  
  
"I believe its to late for complaints, now isn't it Mr. Reno." he said pointing to the now empty IV bag.  
  
"You son of a bitch, I'm gonna fucking kill you!!!" Reno threatened. "I...Ahhhhhhh!!!" his string of insults were cut short by a surge of pain that ripped through his stomach and chest. Gasping for air, he almost passed out again.  
  
"Reno!" Lisa called helplessly from the far side of the room.  
  
"My sweet child, your yelling will not do any good, he's out cold again." Hojo said confidently.  
  
But Reno wasn't unconscious, he was faking it. As Hojo walked past him, Reno skillfully slipped a scalpel out of his lab coat. Growing up in the slums of Midgar had taught him how to become a master pit pocket. He started to cut away at the leather straps that bound him.  
  
The over confidant Hojo casually strolled up to the pair chained to the wall and bent down by Josh. "Now what to do with you. You are a very rare specimen, perhaps I should preserve you for a few decades while I run some tests." He looked over to Lisa, "And you, most interesting how the cells didn't have any effect on you. I will have to study your genetic makeup to decipher how this is possible." Lisa fiercely spat in the Professors face.  
  
While wiping it away from his face with a cloth, he stood up, "You'll pay for that later." He said as he smirked. "I wonder how your friend is doing." He mocked, turning around to check on the unconscious man...But all he saw was when he turned was a deep, hateful pair of cerulean eyes glaring at him from no more than two feet away.  
  
Before the Professor could say or do anything, Reno, quick as lightning slashed the scalpel clean across Hojo's throat, slicing him from ear to ear. The Professor, still with the shocked look on his face, hit the floor in a bloody heap.  
  
Without saying anything, Reno walked over to the two. He garbed the chains that held Lisa and with a quick tug, ripped them clean out of the wall. Turning toward Josh, he did the same with his restraints. "Lets go." Was all he said as he turned and headed toward the now open entryway. Neither Josh nor Lisa dare utter a word, they just silently followed, leaving the still bleeding Professor behind them.  
  
* What will become of Reno? Find out in the next chapter.. 


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3 The three walked for a while after leaving the lab, Reno leading the way. Both Lisa and Josh didn't know what to expect from Reno, he had been full of surprises up until now. But Josh got a bit suspicious when he recognized the Shin-ra logo on the shoulder of Reno's jacket. "Do you think we can trust him?" Josh asked Lisa suspiciously. "I mean yea, he saved us and all, but..." "You don't have to trust me if you don't want to." Reno butted in. "I mean, you just met me, and Lisa hasn't known me much longer than you have. So it would be unfair for me to ask for your trust." "Yea I guess." Josh said crossing his arms. "But what I do owe you is our thanks regardless. You saved us all back there." "Yea we do," agreed Lisa. "In fact, its getting late, its almost 3. How bout we partially repay you by inviting you to stay the night. It's a long way back to sector 6, and we've got an extra room." She said with a kind smile on her face. Reno turned around to face the two. "Well," he said with a grin, "I've never turned down a pretty girls invitation back her place before. And I'm not about to." Lisa blushed at the comment while Josh scowling at Reno. "Don't get any ideas buddy, she invited you to SLEEP over." "Aww c'mon man," Reno chuckled, scratching the back of his head. "Can't you take a joke? but it is getting late isn't it? Okay, Ill stay at your place for the night. I'm not feeling to hot anyway, some sleep would do me good." "Yea, you don't look so well. You ok?" Lisa asked with concern in her voice. "I'm not sure, haven't felt well since we left the lab." Reno said, wiping the sweat away from his slightly pale face. "Lets get you back to our place, I'm startin' to worry about you." Lisa said helping to stabilize Reno. "It's only about a block away, you can lye down once we get there." Reno just nodded. "Josh give me a hand."  
  
Walking over, Josh put Reno's arm over his neck and proceeded to help him the rest of the way. When they reached their house, Josh set Reno down on the front stoop as he unlocked the door. Lisa knelt beside him and gently pushed the fiery strands of hair out of his eyes. He was still sweating and felt hot to the touch. "Reno?" She said quietly, searching for some kind of response. Reno turned his head toward her, while gazing deep into those garnet eyes; he gave her a playful wink and smiled. "Come on, let's go in." She said helping him up and into the house. Josh held the door open for the two, giving Reno a look of both concern and suspicion. He was worried about the now sick man who just came and helped them out of nowhere, but he still didn't fully trust him. "Just a little further." said Lisa reassuringly as they entered the guestroom. Laying Reno down on the bed she proceeded to take his jacket off and set it on a nearby hook. By the time she turned around, Reno was already fast asleep; the fever had sapped any strength left in him. After taking off his shoes and placing them down on the floor, she sat on the bed beside him. His breathing was erratic and raspy. Beads of sweat still covered his brow. Careful not to wake him, she gently took his sunglasses off him and put them on the end table. Careful not to make any noise, she quietly crept over to the window and opened it half way. Some air should help. All the while Reno was in the depths of a dreamless sleep. ***************************************************************** Reno awoke later that night with a searing pain creeping up his throat, he thought he was going to throw up. Jumping out of bed, nearly tripping over his own shoes in the process, he ran to the window where a series of dry heaves robed him of his breath. He hadn't eaten anything for about 10 hours, so there was nothing to come up. Fortunately for him, the fit ended as quickly as it had begun, and Reno was left exhausted from the whole ordeal. Putting all his weight on the windowsill he tried to regain his senses and stand back up. Soon, with a great deal of effort, he did. He wanted badly to go back to bed, but his dehydrated body told him to get some water. With a reluctant grunt, he made his way out of the room and searched till he found the bathroom. After a few liberal handfuls of water, Reno felt a bit better. Some of his strength was returning to him and his fever had gone down a bit, but not by much. Even though he felt better, something wasn't quite right. His cloths felt strangely tight on his body, like they had shrunk over the past few hours. 'What the hell is going on here?' Reno thought as he took his tight shirt off To tired to worry himself with his poorly fit cloths, he made his way back to his room where he took of his pants too, putting them in a pile on the floor along with his shirt. With that, he hoped back into bed. Because to the caps over the sectors of Midgar, there was a good three hours till the sun would show over them. So Reno took this opportunity to get a few hours more sleep. 


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4 Lisa awoke when the sunlight beamed in through her window, shining in her eyes. Rolling over and putting the pillow over her head, she tried to get back to sleep, but to no avail. "Okay, I'm up." She said to nobody in particular. Getting out of bed, she reached up and stretched. She had gotten a good night sleep. She hadn't slept very well since Josh disappeared, so getting him back set her at ease. 'Wonder how Reno's doing?' she thought. 'Better go check on him.' She walked out of her room and down the hall towards Reno's room. She slowly peered into the room to see Reno sound asleep on the bed, looking much better than he did the previous night. His color had returned, and he seemed to be breathing normally. She walked over to the bed, sat down beside him and gently touched his forehead. Still warm, but much better. Satisfied that he was getting better, Lisa got up and headed toward the door. "Mornin' sunshine." A cheerful voice said from behind her. She had woken Reno up and he was now sitting up in bed rubbing his eyes. "Sleep well?" "As a matter of fact I did. Sorry I woke you up though, I just wanted to check on you after last night." Lisa said apologetically. "Ah, don't be sorry, I was up a few hours ago. I was just to lazy to get out of bed." Reno reassured her getting out of bed. Lisa blushed slightly at Reno's not so modest appearance. Standing before her in his boxers, he looked for his shirt and pants. "Did it get warm last night or something?" She asked jokingly, trying to hide the blush. "Nah, it wasn't that. My shirt and pants seem to have shrunk last night or something. I can't fit into em'. You think Josh could loan me some cloths?" He asked discarding his ragged cloths in the trash can. "Good news though, I think my fever's gone." "That's good," Lisa said. "I was starting to get very worried about you." "You were?" He asked in surprise. "Why?" "What to you mean 'why'? You came out of nowhere and fought off that jerk at the bar. Then when you find out what my problem was, you offered your help and asked for nothing in return." Tears started to swell on her eyes. "And if it wasn't for me you wouldn't have been caught by that Professor who used you as his personal 'experiment'." A tear fell down her face. "Its all my fault. I'm sorry...I'm so sor-" Her words were cut short by Reno's soft lips against hers. Usualy if someone stole a kiss she would have pushed him away and given him a good slap across the face. But this...this felt right. Without breaking the kiss, Reno wiped away her tears with his hand. And with the other, pulled Lisa closer to him. Everything else in the world seemed to almost disappear. After Reno was sure Lisa had stooped crying he broke the kiss. Lisa's eyes grew wide, but before she could say anything, Reno put one finger over her mouth and said, "It's not your fault, I did it because I wanted to, and I don't regret it." "But that's not what I was going to say." "What was it then?" He asked with a puzzled look on his face. Lisa simply looked behind him into the full sized mirror against the wall. Reno turned around as well, he went wide eyes when he saw his reflection. A long slender tail was hanging from his backside; the tip formed into an arrowhead. He turned back around and looked at Lisa. "Please tell me I'm seeing things!" He asked her with the beginning of panic forming in his voice. "That's not all." She said pushing some hair out of his face. "Your eyes..." Spinning back around to the mirror again, he saw what she meant. His pupils had narrowed into cat-like slits, and the green in his eyes gave off an eerie glow. "So...this is what Hojo meant when he said he was going to 'alter' me. I wonder why I didn't turn out like Vincent. All vampire like." "Probably because you and this 'Vincent' character are different people, I got injected with the same stuff but nothing happened." She added. "It must vary from person to person." "You think?" "I'm sure of it. However, I'm not Hojo, and he's the only real person that can give you answers. But.." She lowered her eyes to the ground. She didn't know what else to say. "Ill go ask Josh if he has any extra cloths." she said as she turned to the door. "Be right back." By himself in the room again, Reno sat down on the bed and put his head in his hands. He thought of what Hojo had said back in the lab. 'Since you're a Turk and all, the results should be quite interesting.' He also thought of how the cells had no effect on Lisa. She was an innocent, sweet person who wouldn't hurt anyone, while Reno was a cold and ruthless killer, and he was good at it to. Sometimes he even enjoyed it. Perhaps that what the professor meant. The cells must bring out the malice within the person and turn it into physical form. Lisa was innocent, and he... was a monster. "Sorry to keep you waiting." Lisa said, holding an armful of cloths in the doorway. "It took me a while to find an outfit that would fit you." She handed him a pair of dark grey pants, white T-shirt, and a long grey overcoat. Reno held them up and took a look at them. "Yea they should fit. Thanks." He said with a smile. "Great. Tell you what, you get dressed and I'll go make some breakfast." She gave him a quick kiss on the cheek and strolled back out and into the kitchen. "Oh yea, you should probably call your friend from the bar. Rude, was it? He's probably wondering where you went." "Okay, Ill be right out." He said as he took his pocketknife and cut a small hole in the back of the pants for his new tail. 


	5. Chapter 5

CHAPTER 5 After a big breakfast of beacon, eggs and pancakes, Reno leaned back in his chair and said very contently, "That was good. I haven't had a meal like that in a while. Does she cook like this every morning?" He asked turning toward Josh, who sat in his oversized T-shirt and boxers, still half asleep. Yawning a bit, he replied, "Yea, its an every day thing. I'm in charge of dinner." "Sweet deal.... Then I guess lunch is on me. What do ya say?" Reno said with a big smile on his face. "C'mon, my treat." Raising one eyebrow and giving a shrug Josh replied, "Sounds good to me. What about you Lisa?" Both men turned to the girl who had remained quiet all through breakfast. "Sure" she answered, "but only if you bring your friend, Rude from the bar. I'm sure he would like a decent lunch too." "It's settled then." Reno said with a smile on his face. "Witch ways the phone? Ill give him a call now." "In the living room, by the couch. You can't miss it." Lisa replied pointing down the hallway. "Thanks." he said getting up and walking down the suggested hallway. After a minute or so Reno's half of the conversation could be heard coming from the living room. "Hey man, good mornin'... yea well I was asked to help someone out with a problem and... It's complicated.... How bout I fill you in over lunch...I think the "Rooftop Cafe`" is a great idea...Okay, meet you there at 12 sharp.... Yea I'm payin'.... All right. See you there." a faint click of the phone was heard and Reno re-entered the kitchen. "So where is this "Rooftop Cafe`?" asked Lisa. "Like the name, its a little restaurant on the rooftop of a building in Sector 4. Has some real good food there, and the view is to die for, its 56 stories up." "It's not a crowded place is it?" Lisa asked. "Cause I think some people may be a little uneasy with....ya know." Pointing to Reno's new tail as it swayed back and forth behind him. "Nah, its a nice quiet spot. And I'm not that scary am I?" He said jokingly giving her a wink. Josh being half asleep up until his coffee kicked in, didn't notice Reno's tail till now. "Ummm... Did I miss something?" He said raising one eyebrow. "Reno has a tail, is 6 inches taller than he was last night not to mention the 20 lbs. of muscle he put on in the last 6 hours. Last night you could barely stand up, now you look like you could knock down a brick wall." Reno crossed his arms and answered him very seriously. "I presume you remember that sick puppy Hojo. Well he injected me with some JENOVA cells and it ...well." "But then why didn't anything happen to Lisa? He put the same stuff into her as he did into you, but she's fine." Josh commented. "Yea I realized that. I'm not sure why I was effected and she wasn't." Reno lied. "But why complain, if nothing happens to her, its a good thing. I'm just glad Hojo's dead and can't treat any more people like his personal guinea pigs. He's kind of had a habit of doing that." "By the way..." Josh interrupted, crossing his arms. "Just how DID you know where that lab was in the first place?" "You don't get to be a TURK for 5 years and not learn a few secrets here and there." Reno stated. "Hmm." Josh mumbled. "Okay, fine. You've proven yourself so far, but you DID work for Shin-ra. So I'm gonna keep my eye on you. I haven't had much luck with Shin-ra in the past." "Nobody has," Reno retorted. "Not even the President himself, because of his greed he's dead now, along with almost all my coworkers. Not including Hojo, Rude, myself and one other Turk survived the whole weapon attack 6 months ago." "That's horrible!" Lisa cried. "Heh, not really. The only real person I could ever really call a 'friend' is Rude. He's been like a brother to me since before I was even hired. He's the one who suggested me for the job." Reno said, recalling old memories. "It would be nice to meet him, again. I didn't get a good chance to talk to him last time we met." Lisa giggled when she remembered the look on Wallices face when Rude came flying out of nowhere and landed his elbow in his jawbone. "Well anyway.." Reno continued, "we leave for lunch around 11:30 or so, and if its okay with you two I'm gonna hop in the shower." "Fine with me." Josh granted. "Go right ahead, make yourself at home Reno." Lisa said kindly. "Thanks." said Reno already walking down the hallway. After he heard the sound of the door close and water running, Josh turned to Lisa and asked, "So where did you pick up this character anyway?" After putting the last dish in the sink, Lisa sat back down and filled him in on the whole story. ******************************* Later that day.around 11:55. Reno and the others were sitting down at a table at the Roof Top Café waiting for Rude to arrive. Since the place was practically empty, Reno laid his overcoat on the back of the chair and let his new tail get some oxygen. But he kept his glasses on so not to scare the wait staff when they ordered their meal. "Wow Reno! You weren't kidding about the view it's amazing!" Lisa said as she leaned over the edge of the rooftop to get a better view. Josh leaned back in his chair and jokingly said to Lisa, "Don't lean over to far, you'll fall. And it's a long way down to the pavement." After she didn't move, Joshes tone got a bit stern. "Seriously Lisa, get away from there. I mean it."  
  
  
  
"Fine fine." Lisa said as she reluctantly backed away from the edge. "Hey Josh," Reno started, "why is it that you're so protective of Lisa? I mean, she's old enough to take care of herself. Why treat her like a kid?" "Because I made a promise to someone very close to me that I would protect her. It was his last request before." Reno suddenly jumped when he felt a hand land on his shoulder. There was only one person who could sneak up on him like that. "Goddamnit Rude! Don't do that!" Reno said a little startled. "You scared the shit outa` me." "Hello Rude." Lisa greeted politely as she strolled over to the table. "Nice to meet you again. I don't believe I've properly introduced myself. I'm Lisa and this is Josh." She said pointing in Joshes general direction. "Nice to meet you two." Rude said as he sat down. "So. you must be the ones who kidnapped Reno. Now your tired of him and you want to give him back. Am I right?" Rude said with a joking manner to his voice (which was very rare). Lisa giggled, "No not at all. In fact, both Josh and me owe our lives to Reno. He saved us last night." "From what?" Rude asked, a bit confused that Reno of all people actually saved someone without being paid for it. "Hojo." Lisa replied. Getting a slight chill at the mention of that monsters name. "You're kidding me." Rude replied a bit shocked. "AVALANCHE killed him just before the weapon attack." "Apparently they didn't" Josh retorted. "I overheard the Professor talking about how he injected himself with JENOVA cells so he could prolong his experiment. So I assume those 'cells' make him also tough to eliminate." Lisa got that chill again. "But that means he may still be alive. Even after what Reno did to him." "Your probably right." Reno said. Just then he noticed five men occupying the table over at the other end of the restaurant. They had been staring at the group for a few minutes now. When the sun hit them just right, the glimmer suggested that they all were carrying guns. Semi-automatic at that. "Rude." He said in a low voice, "Don't turn around, but I think you were followed." He eyed Josh and Lisa as to say 'act casual!' They both caught his hint and pretended to have a side conversation as best they could. "How many?" Rude asked not turning around. His TURK training skills were still as sharp as ever, same with Reno. "Five. They all have at least one semi automatic gun each. Class 'A' mercenaries I'd guess. They have been, and are still staring at us since you walked in." Reno turned to Josh and Lisa again, taking a pen and writing on the napkin, 'Josh, get her out of here. It may get dangerous. ACT CASUAL!' Josh nodded. "Come on Lisa, I'll get you something to drink." Josh played, standing up. "This place had a great cappuccino I hear." "Sounds good." Lisa said a bit unnerved and followed Josh close behind till they got to the bar. Now that they were out of site. Josh took her to the bartender. "My friend is feeling sick, where is the ladies room?" Josh asked a bit hastily. Lisa started to make herself look like she was ill. With a concerned look the bar tender pointed down the hall. "Thank you." Meanwhile, Reno and Rude were assessing the situation. The five mercenaries it seemed were talking amongst themselves, formulating a plan of their own. "I hope he got Lisa out of here. If they are after us, its gonna get messy. They all seem to have guns, and I assume you didn't bring one since you use your fists. I got my Electro rod but were still out numbered." Reno reached into his pocket and set the Electro-rod on high. The men stood up. "Here they come!" Reno said grasping his concealed weapon tightly. "Stay on your toes." 


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6  
  
One of the men walked up to the table while his 'support' stood behind him, hands ready to reach for their guns. "Are you Reno?" he asked very sternly.  
  
"Yea I am," Reno, replied, "what about it?" "You should come with us." The man said, flashing his gun. "I suggest you don't give us any problems, unless you have a death wish." Reno stood up along with Rude, picking up his jacket he calmly walked up to the man and said in a very calm tone. "Okay, I'll cooperate. But one thing." The man stared at him. "I think that waitress over there just called the cops on you." Reno lied. The moron turned around as expected, along with his fellow idiots. Reno and Rude took this opportunity to attack. Before the men had even fully turned around, Rude made a swift jab into one of their stomachs, knocking the wind out of him. Reno whipped out his Electro-rod and hit the head man 3 times in the torso at lightning fast speed, sending over 10,000 volts through the mans body. By now the remaining mercenaries realized that they had been fooled and were being attacked. They all pulled their guns out and sent a hail of bullets at the pair of ex-TURKS. Reno just barely dodged the storm as they turned the table and chair to rubble. Rude, not being as nimble as Reno, was grazed by a few of the bullets. Fortunately, he was able to avoid getting pulverized. The two men who were stunned by Reno and Rude were now starting to come to their senses. Reno had been dodging the bullets while weaving between and jumping over tables. Rude had grabbed a gun from one of the downed men and was now behind an upturned table exchanging shots with two of the mercenaries. Meanwhile, Josh was in the process of hiding Lisa in the ladies room. "Do not open this door for anyone! When it's over either me, Reno or Rude will come and get you. Lock the door when I leave. You got all that!?" Lisa nodded. "Don't worry about me, I don't go down so easy." He said as he withdrew his sword and exited the room, leaving Lisa behind. Back in the dining room, Reno had hoped behind the bar to shield him from the shots being fired at him. While hiding, he noticed a gun under the register. The bartender must keep it there if they were robed or something. 'I'll have to thank him later.' Reno thought. Taking it out, he checked to see if there were any bullets. 'Damnit, only three.' He cursed internally. 'I'm not gonna be able to hold them off with only three bullets.' While thinking of what to do, he saw a bottle of hot sauce on one of the low shelves. "Perfect." He said with a smirk on his face as a plan crossed his mind. Rude was still under a barrage of bullets whizzing by his head. The table wasn't gonna hold out much longer, it had started to look like a piece of Swiss cheese. On top of that, Rude was running low on bullets, he guessed he only had five or so left. 'This isn't good.' Rude thought. His arm had been shot and it was bleeding pretty badly. Do down to one arm and few bullets, Rude was running out of time. Reno sat crouched behind the bar, listening for the two assailants to run out of bullets and have to reload. It didn't take long. Reno heard a faint 'click click' of the cartridge being released from their guns, now was his chance. With one swift movement, he took the bottle of hot sauce and tossed it directly above the two gunmen. They looked at the bottle as it started to pass just over their heads. Reno leaned over the bar and shot one fire at the bottle, shattering it in a million pieced and raining hot sauce, and glass over the two surprised men. Howling in agony and trying to rub the acidic substance out of their eyes, Reno took this opportunity to hop over the bar and sprint behind the two gunmen. With his remaining two bullets, he shot both of the men dead. As they fell to the floor in a bloody mess Reno surveyed his friend getting shot at by two more gunmen. 'Two?' Reno thought. 'Weren't there five all together? Where's the last.' His thoughts were cut abruptly short when he heard a gruff voice to his left, "FREEZE!" the fifth gunman said. "Drop your weapon, now!" Reno complied, there weren't any bullets left anyway, and tossed it to the side out of reach. "Put your hands over your head and turn my way!" He ordered. Reno put his hands over his head and began to turn around when he felt a wind blow by and a blue and black blur streak between the two. By the time Reno had fully turned around, the gunman was laying in a pool of his own blood, dead. "What the hell?!" Reno yelled in surprise. Looking around, he saw Josh not far from where he was standing. He was holding a now bloody sword, and was still in the stance that he was when he slashed the gunman's midsection open. For one of the first time ever, Reno was speechless. Josh just turned to him and calmly said, "Now were even." Reno still a bit stunned stood there and just nodded. Looking behind Reno to where Rude was being assaulted, Josh said hinting Rude's way, "Lets go help your friend. You ready to fight?" Nodding Reno replied, "Always." Both of them turned and ran towards their comrade who was now using up his last bullets in a last ditch effort to stall the gunmen. Rude got lucky when three of his remaining bullets hit one of the men in the chest and shoulder, killing him. One man to go, Rude pointed the gun to the last assailant. 'Click click click'. Empty. The final gunman stood in front of Rude and gave a devilish grin before taking two shots at the now defenseless man. Reno's eyes went wide as the bullets went screaming through Rude's midsection. "RUDE!!!" He yelled as he sprinted his friend's way. Rude simply looked Reno's direction before coughing up blood and collapsing in a lifeless heap. Reno's concern turned quickly into rage as his sprint turned towards the gunman's direction. With one huge leap, Reno tackled the man knocking him to the floor. After a mini wrestling match, Reno now had the man pressed up against the wall, with his gun now in Reno's possession, pressed against the man's forehead. The gunman was in total shock. "Josh! Check on Rude!" Reno ordered. "Is he still breathing?" "Yea he's breathing, but just barely," he replied, "but he's lost a lot of blood and he won't last much longer." Josh franticly tried to stop the bleeding by pressing hard against the wound. Blood was gushing out of Rude as the color started to leave his face. Reno now furious with the gunman and started to squeeze on the trigger. "If he dies, I'm not just going to shoot you. I'm gonna break every bone in your body first!" Reno threatened as a transparent haze of red flashed over his eyes. "Who sent you?! Why did you attack us?! ANSWER ME!" The gunman was now scared out of his mind. (Anyone would be with a gun at their head) "H-Hojo!" the man said franticly. "He sent us to retrieve you, the girl and the ancient." A bead of sweat dripped down the side of the mans head, "He wanted the girl and the ancient unharmed, but he said it didn't matter with you. He.He said he'd take you either dead or alive." "So he lived." Reno said to no one in particular. "Where is he? Why does he want us?" He asked pressing the barrel of the gun harder against the mans head. "For some experiment." He said practically in a panic. "I don't know anymore. He just paid us to come get you." He didn't give us any details for why.  
  
"Reno were loosing him!" Josh said franticly. The red hazes that was in Reno's eyes now turned to a solid blood red. Pure rage was behind them. "Is that all you know!?" Reno demanded an answer. "Yes.Yes that's everything!" the gunman, said franticly. "I don't know anymore." Reno grinned, bearing a set of fangs. His eyes glimmered with a genuine pleasure for what he was about to do. "Thank you for your cooperation." He squeezed the trigger Reno let go of the mans shirt and let the body fall to the floor. Josh just looked at him in shock. He didn't dare say a word. Dropping the gun, Reno walked over to his fallen friend. Kneeling down beside him, he felt for a pulse. There was one, but it was very faint, and fading fast. Tears swelled in Reno's eyes as he watched his best friend dyeing before him. "Rude!" A voice called from the doorway. "Oh my god! What happened?" Lisa said running over. But one look at Reno's tearful eyes told the whole story.Rude, Reno's best friend was dead. 


End file.
